NBA 2019-20: Hoopingest place on earth

[BillDoran]

C.J. McCollum for Aaron Gordon and Terrence Ross.

Who says no (other than Neil Olshey, because, damnit, he's sticking to his guns)?


That'd give you a starting lineup of Lillard, Trent, Ross/Hood, Gordon and Nurkic. Collins, backup PG, Ariza, backup big. Still not contending for a championship, but at least it's more balanced. Shooting would probably be light, but at least they could play passable, possibly even good, defense.

The more I think about it, the less I like it. I do like Orlando as a trading partner. They have lots of secondary pieces. If you could get two (or one Jonathan Isaac) for McCollum, I'd think you could improve the Blazers a bit.

[BillDoran]

I was waiting for one more game to post this, but it seems largely ceremonial, so - during this seven-year run, the number of wins the Blazers have gotten in the series where they've been eliminated are 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0 and (probably) 1. That's not a contender. That's a team getting participation trophies. If "made the playoffs" is your bar, then they're doing fine. Betterread was making this same point about Indiana, though I think that squad has more upside with Sabonis in the mix.

Portland gets punished on the wings. Aminu and Harkless are no great shakes, but it's been a dive off the cliff without them. Until Ariza showed up, they had no one out there (as you noted, Melo's just been empty calories). They have to count on Dame and CJ to win the guard matchup by an absurd amount to compensate for how much they're going to lose on the wings on a given night. And it's not new. The need for better wing play has been what's kept from taking the step for years now. And I'm not sure there' a lot of help coming on this roster. Collins isn't a wing. He's a big who seems to have a so-so ceiling. Nassir Little would do well to be a dependable 2nd unit guy in the coming years. Rodney Hood is going to be coming back from an Achilles tear. Mario Hezonja and Wenyen Gabriel aren't serious options for a good team. Anfernee Simons has a loooooong way to go to be good.

Trent is the one guy who seems like he could handle a bigger role, but that role is probably CJ's job. I think they owe it to Dame and their fans to shake it up. They needed all of his hero ball this season just to squeak into the playoffs with a losing record. Golden State is back next year while Memphis, Phoenix and Nola should continue improving. Time is cruel. Portland needs to make something happen.

Really good article from the Warriors beat writer with The Athletic on why Dame Lillard isn't Steph Curry.

https://theathletic.com/2020741/2020...shared_article

The gist being Curry can play on and off the ball, whereas Dame is ball-dominant and not particularly adept at running off screens. You can force the ball out of Dame's hands, and he's generally content after having drawn two defenders. Curry causes havoc. I think this is a pretty insightful observation. If you rush Dame, he's hoping to get the ball to McCollum or Nurk, both good players but hardly Hall of Famers. McCollum can make you pay, but Nurk is a pretty iffy proposition when trying to playmake.

Anways, it's the stagnancy of the offense, both in its ball-dominant nature and lack of evolution over time that's got me wondering if Terry Stotts is the answer. Love him, think he's an above average coach, but given how locked-in things are, there are only a few options to shake things up. He's done a good job with the talent he's had, but I don't think he's going to push them to a new level. And kinda like the Reds sitting on their hands during the tail-end of Votto's prime, I think Olshey should set a new foundation this summer around Lillard and Nurk (and Trent to a lesser extent).

[M2]

Interesting idea about the Sixers swapping Ben Simmons to the Nuggets for Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr. - https://www.theringer.com/nba/2020/8...se-ben-simmons.

[Rojo Rijo]

Interesting idea about the Sixers swapping Ben Simmons to the Nuggets for Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr. - https://www.theringer.com/nba/2020/8...se-ben-simmons.

If I'm Philly and Denver offers Murray for Simmons I'm all over that. I'd definitely try to get more but ultimately I'd pull that trigger.

[Bourgeois Zee]

If I'm Philly and Denver offers Murray for Simmons I'm all over that. I'd definitely try to get more but ultimately I'd pull that trigger.

That'd help both teams, IMO. Elton Brand should ask for something in addition to Murray (Bol Bol?) though.

[Bourgeois Zee]

C.J. McCollum for Aaron Gordon and Terrence Ross.

Fournier (likely to opt in) and Gordon would definitely help the Blazer wing situation, if only for one season. (Fournier's a FA after 2021.) McCollum for those two would totally work, IMO, and help both squads.

[Bourgeois Zee]

CJ McCollum for Gary Harris and Will Barton.

OR

Julius Randle and RJ Barrett for McCollum.

Who says no?

[texasdave]

Denver should not trade for Simmons at all. What does he add to that team? The offense already runs through Jokic. Simmons has no outside shot. Who replaces Murray's production? Not Simmons. That's a no-go from the start.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Denver should not trade for Simmons at all. What does he add to that team? The offense already runs through Jokic. Simmons has no outside shot. Who replaces Murray's production? Not Simmons. That's a no-go from the start.

Simmons could play the PF spot and be a dominant defense-first point forward. He and Jokic could play opposite each other for the most part, then team up late in the fourth to have to front court guys who would handle the ball and initiate offense. This would allow Barton and Porter to play the wings (and shoot early and often) plus Harris and Morris at the "point".

[Stray]

Yeah I'm with Dave. Not sure Simmons makes sense with Denver. They already run offense through Jokic. Paired with a scoring PG like Murray is a good fit. I also love MPJ's future so there's no way I'd consider moving him.

[M2]

Simmons could play the PF spot and be a dominant defense-first point forward. He and Jokic could play opposite each other for the most part, then team up late in the fourth to have to front court guys who would handle the ball and initiate offense. This would allow Barton and Porter to play the wings (and shoot early and often) plus Harris and Morris at the "point".

Offensively, no one would be blocking Simmons' path the rim. He'd have free reign to play like a taller version of what Russell Westbrook is doing with the Rockets this season. If they were able to keep Murray (making MPJ and Gary Harris the core of that deal) they'd have a lineup where the ball would really jump - point guard, point forward and point center.

[Betterread]

Simmons could play the PF spot and be a dominant defense-first point forward. He and Jokic could play opposite each other for the most part, then team up late in the fourth to have to front court guys who would handle the ball and initiate offense. This would allow Barton and Porter to play the wings (and shoot early and often) plus Harris and Morris at the "point".

Michael Porter Jr is going to play a lot more minutes at PF next year. Millsap’s $30 mill contract is over after the playoffs, and MPJ will get every chance to play so the Nuggets can decide if/how much to pay him long term. MPJ is not as skilled as Simmmons but he is a far better shooter. Denver already has its two offensive facilitators in Jokic and Murray. They have done a great job building their roster.

Nuggets will see if they can upgrade their wing talent from Harris/Barton. I don’t know what happened with Harris. He used to be very good, but something has been wrong with his game since sometime last year.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Offensively, no one would be blocking Simmons' path the rim. He'd have free reign to play like a taller version of what Russell Westbrook is doing with the Rockets this season.

At 6'10", he's more Magic than Westbrook, but he'd put up some monster numbers and allow the rest of that team some wide-open opportunities.

[M2]

At 6'10", he's more Magic than Westbrook, but he'd put up some monster numbers and allow the rest of that team some wide-open opportunities.

Agreed. I was thinking Russ solely in terms of having the freedom to launch himself at the rim. I'm not sure how you'd stop him in a five-out system.

[Bourgeois Zee]

Agreed. I was thinking Russ solely in terms of having the freedom to launch himself at the rim. I'm not sure how you'd stop him in a five-out system.

You play off Simmons and refuse to give him layups. He has to be more proficient as a shooter to unlock "unguardable". Simmons hit 36.5% of his shots from 3 - 10 feet last season. And less than 20% on anything outside of that range.

Until he improves on that, you put a big on him and muscle him away from the rim.